I decided to have a deeper look into dark patterns as I had never heard of them before, yet I realised that I had been tricked by this strategy in the past without even knowing.
https://www.uxdesigninstitute.com/blog/what-are-dark-patterns-in-ux/
Dark patterns are UX design methods used to trick users into doing things that will benefit the company and not the user, such as spending more money and sharing different data. Just like good UX, dark patterns are invisible to users. Harry Brignull created this term in 2010 to describe deceptive interface designs. The use of dark designs is on the rise, with reports from the FTC saying that there are widespread dark patterns across e-commerce and children's apps.
Dark patterns are often seen as unethical, and in some places, they can be illegal. Dark patterns can exploit how users interact with products, relying on habits and expected patterns in design to mislead users. This can impact the business as it might damage the brand trust, harming the reputation and user retention. Dark patterns can contradict good UX, as good UX supports users’ needs and clear communication, and the dark patterns intentionally confuse and manipulate the user.
Hidden costs
Forced continuity
Misdirection
price comparison preventions
Hidden costs
Trick questions
FOMO - fear of missing out
disguised ads
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Amazon, which accused Amazon of using deceptive dark patterns to trick millions of its customers into signing up for an Amazon Prime subscription without having clear consent from the user.
They also made it very difficult for users to cancel subscriptions; the designed cancellation was to discourage users from leaving. Amazon leadership were aware of the issues and didn't address them as they easier cancellation process would impact profits.
during 301 last semester we went over user personas including the types and what needs to be included. So i wanted to dive more into why and when they are needed and how to chose the scope of the personas.
Week 5 - Content strategy and personas (1)
User personas are not user groups, these groups catorise broad segments of people and personas will focus of the specific, fictional users built form the research. user personas will create a more digestable and memorable approach to presenting information. they can help designers remember the target audience throughout the project.
designers should crate personas early into the design process they should be based on real user data from interviews and surveys. imaginary personas will not present the actual users and there is no research, which could lead to designers that wont hit the users needs